Feline Friday: Kitty Communication & How Cats Read

TGIFF…Feline Friday, that is. In honor of TAKE YOUR CAT TO THE VET week, I’m re-running a blog (with a few updates) that some of my newest subscribers may not have seen. Enjoy!

Do your cats know how to read? Well of COURSE they do. I suspect our felines subscribe to the Kitty Manual on Rooling Humanz or wouldn’t have such a uniform method of intervention.

They simply sit on the page (or the E-reader), and absorb the text through their (ahem) nether regions. Just check out Wall-E, in the picture “reading” my first-aid book. Kitties want to be prepared. *s* What do YOUR cat’s read?

Speaking of being prepared, if you have a new kitten over the summer I’m sure you’re making the right next paw-steps to properly socialize the little fur-kid. Cats can be trained (yes, they can!) at any age, and continue to learn throughout their lives. But kittens are furry sponges that absorb lessons, both good and bad, at an incredible pace.

Kittens are works in progress--and need help with socialization!

This prime kitten socialization period is a narrow window during babyhood when learning the “wrong” lessons can emotionally cripple the cat. For example, kittens not exposed to positive experiences with humans during this period will be wild (feral) critters and never accept people. Well actually they MAY accept a very patient and loving human who makes extra effort, but they won’t be the “pet-able” kitties we long to snuggle. Proper socialization teaches a cat how to be a cat, proper feline manners, how to communicate with other felines, and who the cat’s friends and enemies are.

The age when kittens are most receptive is two-to-seven weeks. That’s about the age of this gorgeous baby in Maria Magnus photo, above. Have your new kittens been properly socialized? How did you manage this? Proper socialization can be very helpful in getting them to visit the vet with the least amount of trauma!

Kittens tend to be snuggle-pusses. But adult cats can be puzzling when it comes to wanting attention. Or does your cat ask to be petted and then walk away and wait j-u-s-t out of reach, playing keep away for you to come to her? Seren does this, and I know other readers also experience “kitty keep away” behavior. She’ll move enough that I need to take a step, bend over and reach to pet again-whereupon she again tippy-toe dances a finger’s width away. I’ve seen cats (including Seren) do this over and over and over. Find out the reasons behind this behavior here.

I suspect that a future blog will cover the pushing “Velcro” kitties that pester constantly for attention. Is there a happy middle with kitties? Naw….that would be boring!

Our cats seems to like “reading” magazines and newspapers more than books. Oh, and catalogs. I mean, it has the word cat in it, so that means it’s for them, right?

We had one cat when I was a kid who was a little confused I suspect, and was not taught to read properly, for instead of sitting atop the newspaper to absorb it, she would climb under it and sleep there. Of course, this same cat also had a habit of staring for hours on end at a particular point on the wall in the hallway – a habit which we eventually assumed to be her contacting the Mother Ship to take her home to whatever planet she came from.

Oh! On a side note to kitty keep-away… does anybody else have cats that are OBSESSED with following them to the bathroom? Almost every cat I’ve known seems to have this thing for begging for attention at a rather, ah, inconvenient time. LOL I suspect they consider it a captive audience. I always ask Simba why it is she gets all upset if you so much as glance her way when she’s on the litterbox, yet it’s perfectly okay for her to pester me when I’m on mine. I have yet to get an answer. 😉

Of course, both kitties have been trying to figure out what the heck the fascination is with that box full of wet stuff. I guess they can’t understand why humans bathe in water instead of just licking themselves like a proper animal. LOL

Well, the coolness factor can be ruled out because our main bathroom is actually carpeted (we don’t know why either). The behavior chain is kind of a loss too, because I usually finish breakfast in the morning before being awake enough to check the cat bowls. They don’t perch on the vanity at all, just purr and wander on in and nudge for pets. LOL Only thing that makes sense is the captive audience part. I find it funny, with Simba, she wanders up and as soon as I reach for the toilet paper, she leaves. I don’t mind it, I just find it amusing that she always seems to follow me.